(ART) A Visual Archive of Public Life in New York City-- Two original sketchbooks by artist-observer Jerry Benzer, ca. 1980s

Item Details

Pair of original sketchbooks by Jerry Benzer, a little-documented New York artist whose drawings were featured in a 1990 exhibition titled Myth-Realism at the Anna Howard Gallery in Washington Depot, Connecticut. The larger volume (14 x 17 in.) contains approximately 97 leaves with drawings on both sides; the smaller (12 x 9 in.) contains roughly 80–90 additional works. Media include graphite, crayon, colored pencil, and occasional watercolor, with subjects drawn from life in New York's parks, cafés, sidewalks, transit systems, and working-class neighborhoods. Though biographical details on Benzer remain scarce, the sketchbooks themselves offer rich opportunities for research into vernacular art practices, street portraiture, and the racial and cultural diversity of New York City's public spaces in the 1980s and 1990s.
More images provided upon request.